Gov. Dave Heineman of Nebraska on Tuesday approved a revised route for the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska, brushing aside vocal opposition from some citizen groups and putting final approval of the pipeline project squarely in the hands of the Obama administration.

The decision came a day after President Obama made an assertive pledge in his inaugural address to tackle climate change in his second term. Opponents of the pipeline, which would bring heavy crude oil from tar sands formations in Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast, say that its extraction and consumption will significantly worsen global warming and that Obama's decision will be a test of his intentions.

Heineman, a Republican, said in a letter to Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that his state's review found that the new route avoided sensitive lands and aquifers. Obama had rejected the previous route last January on the grounds that construction of the pipeline threatened Nebraska's Sand Hills region and that a spill could contaminate the crucial Ogallala Aquifer.

Heineman said that the pipeline's operator, TransCanada, had assured him and state environmental officials that the chances of a spill would be minimized and that the company would assume all responsibility for a cleanup if there were an accident.

The State Department, which must review the 1,700-mile pipeline because it crosses an international border, is in the final stages of preparing an environmental-impact statement on the project. An earlier version found that the project would have minimal adverse effects along its route.

The American Petroleum Institute, a strong advocate of the project, applauded Nebraska's action, saying that it removed a crucial hurdle to completion of the pipeline.

"With the approval from Nebraska in hand, the president can be confident that the remaining environmental concerns have been addressed," said Marty Durbin, the oil lobby's executive vice president. "We hope President Obama will finally green-light KXL as soon as possible and get more Americans back to work."

Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska, a citizens' advocacy group that is staunchly opposed to the pipeline, assailed Heineman's move. Kleeb said that if the president was indeed serious about addressing climate change, he has no choice but to reject Keystone XL.